


Talk to Me

by IStay77



Category: The Young and the Restless
Genre: F/F, Messa - Freeform, Teriah - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-15
Updated: 2018-12-15
Packaged: 2019-09-18 10:40:36
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,627
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16993497
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/IStay77/pseuds/IStay77
Summary: Mariah wants Tessa to talk to her about what happened@IStay77 on Twitter





	Talk to Me

Mariah’s work day was wrapping up and she was getting set to leave the office. She couldn’t wait to get home to Tessa. The two of them had their problems lately, but they were working on things. Mariah was so happy that she decided not to break up with the musician. Thinking back to that night, she remembered how upset Tessa was after the kidnapping. Mariah knew the second she’d heard Tessa’s cries over the phone that there was no way she was leaving her.

When she confronted Sharon, she may have thrown it in her face that her and Tessa were still together because of the kidnapping. It felt good to say it and Mariah knew it was petty. But, for now she couldn’t see past her anger.

Grabbing her coat and heading out the door, Mariah stopped when her phone rang. Seeing that it was Kyle, she realized she forgot to tell him that her and Tessa are still together.

“I have some good news for you,” Mariah answered the phone. She knew Kyle would be happy that she didn’t break up with Tessa. He’s been in their corner since the day he found out about them. “Tessa and I are still together,” she told him.

“Ahh oh, okay,” Kyle seemed caught off guard. “Then that makes what I just saw even more concerning.”

“What do you mean?” Mariah was instantly on alert.

“I was meeting Lola for lunch and ran into Tessa,” He started to explain. “I mean, like literally ran into her. I was looking down at my phone and not watching where I was walking.”

“Kyle, take a breath,” Mariah felt a little panicked, but Kyle was talking a little too fast for her to keep up. “What happened with Tessa?”

“So, we collided, but it wasn’t hard or anything. I didn’t think I ran into her hard enough to hurt her.” Kyle spoke a little slower this time.

“Wait, Tessa’s hurt?” Mariah’s heart dropped.

“Yes,” Kyle replied. “I mean no. I, I don’t know. She seemed upset. I tried apologizing to her, but it was like she didn’t recognize me really. She was looking at me like she was scared of me and then she started crying and when I put my hand on her shoulder she freaked out. I kept telling her it was me until it seemed like I got through to her. She apologized and took off. I figured it had something to do with the breakup, but since that never happened…” He trailed off, not sure what else to say.

“No, um,” Mariah knew the reason why Tessa was upset, but couldn’t exactly tell Kyle that she was kidnapped by Nikki, Victoria, and Sharon. “She’s just, she’s dealing with some things, and I…”

“Can’t tell me?” Kyle guessed.

“No, not really.” Mariah said. “Thank you for calling me, Kyle. I’m on my way home now.”

 

 

Arriving home, Mariah found Tessa in the kitchen making dinner.

“Hey, welcome home,” the taller woman said. “I am making you dinner, but it won’t be ready for another half hour. Want me to pour you a glass of wine?” Tessa was smiling and appeared to be in good spirits, but Mariah knew the truth. It was all an act.

Taking off her coat and scarf, Mariah walked over to the kitchen window that separated that room from the rest of the apartment. Leaning on the counter there, she watched as Tessa was cutting vegetables. Her hands appeared to be shaking just slightly. “Kyle called me,” she said.

Tessa looked up from her task and briefly thought about pretending she had no idea what the redhead was talking about, but that was old instinct she was trying to get away from. “Yeah, we ran into each other. He ah, startled me.”

“Tessa, you know he told me everything. You were more than startled,” Mariah said softly. Previously, the evasiveness with which Tessa answered most questions would have made Mariah’s temper rise, but she was beginning to understand the woman she loved a little better and she knew Tessa was trying.

“I just ah,” she went back to cutting the zucchini in front of her. “I’m a little on edge. I know I overreacted, but I think I may be doing that for a little while.”

“Tessa,” Mariah’s face softened. “You were traumatized. You have to talk about it if you want to get past it. Please,” Tessa looked up into Mariah’s pleading eyes. “Talk to me. I love you. There’s nothing you can’t tell me.”

Just as Tessa was opening her mouth to respond, the knife in her hand slipped. She didn’t react, really, just looked down at the sudden appearance of blood on the cutting board. Mariah followed her gaze.

“Tessa!” She walked around the counter to stand next to the taller woman and took her injured hand. “Come on, let’s get this cleaned up. Hopefully, it’s not too deep.” Tessa nodded, but had yet to say anything. She let Mariah pull her into the bathroom.

Mariah turned on the sink and took Tessa’s hand to put under the stream of water. She took her time gently cleaning the wound and then wrapped the hand it in a towel, applying pressure. “Here, hold this tight until the bleeding stops. It doesn’t look too deep, but I want to put antibacterial cream on it anyway and cover it.”

Mariah grabbed the first aid kit and directed the taller woman back into the living room where they both sat on the couch. Taking Tessa’s hand again, the redhead gently removed the towel to check on the wound.

“It’s still bleeding,” she said. “Let’s hold this tight for a few more minutes.” Mariah cradled Tessa’s hand and kept applying pressure. The musician hadn’t said anything in the past several minutes. She didn’t cry out when she cut herself. She didn’t make any kind of noise. She just stared at her hand. The silence was worrying the other woman.

“Tessa, do you trust me?” she asked.

“What?” She finally spoke.

“That’s not,” Mariah shook her head and started over. “I mean, I know we have some trust issues, but I also know we can get past them. We just have to communicate.” She reached out to brush a strand of Tessa’s hair over her ear. “And right now, I want to tell you that I’m scared.”

“You’re scared?” Tessa was confused.

“Yes,” Mariah looked down at the wrapped hand in her lap.

“Of me?” Tessa sounded a little scared herself.

“No, not of you,” Mariah continued. “I’m scared of losing you.”

“Mariah, I’m not going anywhere,” Tessa insisted, missing the other woman’s point.

“No, not physically,” Mariah responded. “But, you are going away in here,” her hand gently touched the side of Tessa’s head. “And sometimes I think in here, too,” she put the hand over Tessa’s heart. The musician had pain in her eyes as she looked down at Mariah’s hand. She knew what Mariah was getting at. And, she was right.

“Tessa, if you don’t talk to me, then this will never work. I don’t want to push you because I know how fight or flight you are, and I am okay with waiting until you’re ready to tell me what happened to you. I just need to know that you are working on getting there.” She checked on Tessa’s wound again and noticed it had stopped bleeding. Removing the towel, Mariah gently applied the ointment and covered it with a bandage.

“They were just trying to scare me. I can see that now. They needed me to believe they were going to hurt me so I would tell them the truth. They just didn’t believe me when I did.” Tessa said.

“I’m not talking about what Nikki, Victoria, and Sharon did to you,” Mariah replied. She was still holding Tessa’s injured hand and reached out to take the other. “I’m talking about whatever happened to you in the past.” Tessa averted her eyes. “Hey,” Mariah released the uninjured hand and touched the taller woman’s chin, gently making her hold eye contact. “I’m not going to judge you and I’m not going to think less of you. I LOVE you. I am worried about you. I want to know what your nightmares are about.”

Tessa, with tears in her eyes, leaned forward to kiss the redhead. She took Mariah’s face in her hands and kissed her with all of the love she had in her heart. When she pulled back and looked into Mariah’s eyes, she smiled.

“No one has ever cared enough to ask me,” she explained, smiling. “And then, suddenly here you are like I’ve been waiting my entire life for you. I don’t deserve you.”

“Yes, you do,” Mariah interrupted her. “You are not a bad person, Tessa. You are a product of your situation and environment. But, you are not in that world anymore. You are in mine and you are going to stay in mine.”

“I will tell you, Mariah,” Tessa said. “I will tell you. I just need some time, okay?”

Mariah looked into Tessa’s eyes and knew she was telling the truth. That was good enough for now. “Okay,” she said, leaning in to kiss the musician again. “Now, do you want to salvage that dinner or order take out and watch Netflix?”

“It doesn’t matter,” Tessa answered. “As long as I’m with you I’d even be happy living in a shoe box apartment.” Grinning like a love struck fool, Tessa blushed a little. Some of the fear she was feeling was leaving her and she knew that was all because of Mariah. It gave her hope for their future. It gave both of them hope.


End file.
